It is without a doubt that Muhammad is one of the most influential religious figures of all time, being the figurehead for the fastest growing religion and currently the second most prominent religion in the world. With about 1.6 billion Muslims around the world today (23% of the global population), what is it that made Muhammad so effective, and why did we see such a surge in Islam over the past 14 centuries (DeSilver)? Islam is a very easy religion to gravitate towards, particularly for the underprivileged and downtrodden members of society, but there must be something more happening than just religious ideologies. Muhammad’s military initiative and leadership as a general was necessary in the spread of Islam, because it set the stage for …show more content…
The first military aggressions can be seen with the caravan raids, raids against Meccan caravans with the purpose of gaining both supplies and intelligence about the Quraysh (Gabriel). Muslims were able to justify stealing from the Quraysh’s caravans, because they left most of their wealth and possessions behind in Mecca. The Muslim armies continued to expand, as nomadic tribes and other religious groups were swallowed up by the expanding Islamic empire. Muhammad was much more than just simply a skilled war general, he was also a “military theorist, organizational reformer, strategic thinker, operational-level combat commander, political-military leader, heroic soldier, and revolutionary” (Gabriel). The political Muhammad often comes under severe scrutiny, because he executed the “expulsion of two Jewish tribes from Medina and murdered all the members of a third Jewish tribe, except for the women and children, who were sold into slavery” (Bard). It is important to realize that Muhammad, while coming to Medina by request, was not automatically seen as the ruler of Medina by all. He had to use a combination of political, marital, and military tactics in order to secure all of Medina for his own use. A few of the tactics employed, other than the persuasiveness of his faith, included marrying women from influential families in order to gain political power and controlling the markets and traders in order to gain economic power. Throughout the beginning years in Medina, Muhammad’s focus was on securing the “city of the prophet” and building up his forces for larger conflicts with the
The town of Mecca was the birthplace of Islam, at first the leaders of the city refused the changing of this new religion and forced Muhammad to leave. Muhammad returned and preached to the people about what he had heard, that there is only one god. Islam spread quickly for two main reasons they are the message and military conquest.
For example, the spread of Islam to the Byzantines and the Persians. The other caliphs (Umar, Uthman and Ali) expanded the Islamic empire rapidly and grew faster than any other religion. The Muslims conquered a massive amount of land from the Indus River, across North Africa and into Spain. There were many factors that helped Islam succeed; for example, people would rather fight for God and their salvation instead of fighting for a king, the use of military force by the Muslims and how easy it was to convert to Islam.
The Muslims would also give gifts called stipends to conquered people who helped the Islam’s. The next paragraph will be explaining how Muslims fought for land and how that was important. The Muslims could be said to have fought for land to increase their expansion of their empire. Mainly, every Muslim participated to help defeat the opposing army and take control of the land. I think that the Muslims did this because they were very faithful and confident that their God, Allah, would help them.
Although there are many religious in history, Islam is one of the quickest spreading in the Middle East. According to Document A, cultural diffusion helped advance the religion of Islam. For example, the city of Mecca was the center of trade, which meant there were many trade routes connected to Mecca. Some trade routes travelled farther away, like to India or China and Islam's culture and religion grew from all the trading. Document B explains that Islam spread so quickly because the laws from their God appealed to many. In other words, the laws of the Muslim community were fair, wanted people to be kind not evil, told followers their property would not be stolen or destroyed and also promised them afterlife in paradise. People that were not
One of the reasons why Islam spread so quickly was because of the trading that was happening about the time islam first began. The people how were trading goods with the muslims would spread the word about muhammad in their home towns. Muhammad lived in Mecca, which was a very important and rich town . Mecca was a major crossroads for for the caravan trade. Everything from silk to spices came through Mecca. People from every direction came to Mecca to trade. Muhammad and his followers would tell the traders about Islam and some
Due to the restrictive nature of Mecca, Muhammad was unable to convert many. Those who did convert converted individually, not in groups, whilst their clans remained as their basic social links. For Islam to succeed Muhammad needed to migrate to a more convenient place, where he could form spiritual and political leadership, preach openly and convert Muslims in groups. Yathrib would provide this and Muhammad's migration would begin a new era. Muhammad’s unacceptance in Mecca and thus his decision to take the Hijrah to a place where Islam could bloom attaches meanings of determination and perseverance to the Hijrah. Islam was unappealing to the majority in Mecca and preaching it came at a huge cost, but the prophet did not give up and attempt to settle back into the restricting nature of pre-Islamic Mecca, he was determined that Islam was going to be a success and that his revelations would be heard.
In 610 CE, Muhammad, a merchant trader from Mecca (Mecca is also a site of a yearly pilgrimage where Muslims come to perform a rituals at the sacred Ka’ba a.k.a. the holy shrine of Mecca), made one of his frequent visits to a cave by Mount Hira. On his way to the cave, he decided to pray because of all the different causes that made him feel like he was losing his way. During this visit to Mount Hira, the Archangel Gabriel squeezed Muhammad hard forcing the words “Allah is one God” continuously coming out of his mouth. After having these words come out of his mouth for about two years, Muhammad decided that it was the time to encourage others to quote
The Muslim Empire began to expand vastly under the Umayyads, with the empire becoming so large many people were converting to Islam religion. The Umayyads were the second of the four major caliphates after the death of Muhammad. The Empire used many different ways to spread the Islamic civilization consisting of war, classes, and appeal. The Islamic civilization spread so strongly because of the way it allured the common man.
For forty-one year’s Muhammad spread the word of the Nation of Islam, slowly but steadily attracting new members (biography.com). Muhammad built the religion from a small fringe group into a large and complex organization that attracted controversy along with its new prominence (biography.com). His legacy within the Nation of Islam intact, Muhammad, or simply “The Prophet,” is widely remembered for transforming a small temple into a nationwide movement with hundreds of thousands of devoted followers, culminating in an irrevocable effect on black culture and U.S. history (blackhistorynow.com).
Muhammad’s uncle was a clan chief in the Mecca, so when his uncle died he had no one to protect him and became dangerous for Muhammad (Gabriel 60). Muhammad fled to Yathrib because of the danger in Mecca. Yathrib became known as Madinat al-Nabi (the City of the Prophet), which in short they called Medina. During Muhammad’s time in Medina, he became their teacher, judge, arbitrator, adviser, consoler, and father figure (Haleem xii). The people of Medina hoped Muhammad would be a favorable arbitrator for their warring tribes, and he carried out this hope. Muhammad commanded multiple wars and raids, most with the Meccans. The Muslims, denied the right to enter Mecca, agreed to a truce made with the Meccan alliance. This truce, known as the Treaty of Al-Hudaybiyya, allows Muslims to preach peacefully (Haleem xxxvii). A tribe allied with Mecca broke this truce, prompting Muslims to attack Mecca. Meccan leaders surrendered and accepted Islam without a fight (Haleem xii).
...f the warring tribes was obtaining booty, or riches, not following the scriptures of the Quran or examples of Mohammed
The prophet Muhammad had a significant impact on the rise and spread of the religion Islam. According to World Civilizations, Muhammad “began receiving revelations transmitted from Allah,” and later these revelations became holy scripts in the Quran. Muhammad started off with very few followers but as the faith of Allah started to spread, he gained more followers and he became a threat to Mecca’s rulers. As mentioned in World Civilization, “in 622 Muhammad left Mecca for Medina where his skilled leadership brought new followers.” In Medina, Muhammad became the religious authority in the area and he used this power to conquer Mecca, a holy place for Islamic believers. By the time of his death, he was able to have created a religious empire that controlled all of the Arabian Peninsula.
...s I believe that without his role as a statesman, a religious leader, a Warner and a warrior He would not have been recognised as the man or the prophet that He was. “He was a prodigy of extraordinary merits, a paragon of virtue and goodness, a symbol of truth” who shon in all areas of his life and duties. I conclude that Muhammad had many roles in his life and that his role of a Prophet which is what many believe He was sent from God to be was possibly his most influential role as the changes He has made have affected individuals and groups world wide. But we have to remember that God is all knowing and therefore knew that Muhammad would also be a “shrewd military strategist” etc proving that God chose him for more reasons than to merely be a Prophet. In conclusion I believe that Muhammad was more that just a Prophet, He was “an ideal religopolitical leader”.
When people think about Mecca one of the first things that might come to their heads is the pilgrimage or the black stone. Muhammad is one of the reasons that Mecca is what it is today. Muhhamad was a prophet born 570 in Mecca. He was orphaned as a child and sent to ended up living with his uncle. Muhhamad would get away from everything by going to the desert to meditate. One night while alone at Mt. Hira he was visited by an angel named Gabriel. After this Muhhamad began to accept Allah and started to believe. Some of the things Muhhamad believed was Jihad, holy struggle. He also began to believe you live for Allah. He believed all those who did would be rewarded and the rest punished. Not everyone believed the way Muhammad did. People at first thought that his teachings were a threat to the religious and material order. He was accused of making up what the Angel Gabriel had told him. He got followers from the poor and people who thought they were being unequally treated. Muhhamad took these people and then left and went to Medina to find more followers. He then returned to Mecca later and took over the city and converted everyone to Islam.
Muhammad's qualities facilitated him to be successful at the beginning to spread the word of God.